


Regular

by Harper44



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Barber Rhett McLaughlin, Businessman Link Neal, Friends to Lovers, Link's Haircut, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Pining Rhett McLaughlin, RhettxLink - Freeform, barber shop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:54:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25521679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harper44/pseuds/Harper44
Summary: Every two weeks, Rhett gives a cut and a shave to his most attractive customer. Rhett is bisexual and he knows Mr. Neal is gay, but of course a man as beautiful as him is taken. Rhett vocally supports his client's relationship while silently willing it to end.
Relationships: Link Neal/Original Male Character(s), Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 39
Kudos: 85





	Regular

Rhett would never say that he has a favorite customer who he services in his barber shop. He has a handful of regulars who he no longer has to ask what they want, instead he asks about their families and jobs. The reason he opened his shop was to provide a place of comfort, familiarity, and relaxation, so that is what he endeavors to provide alongside his employees. As the owner, Rhett takes the customers who have been with them the longest. He can’t help but look forward to the days he sees Mr. Neal. He has been coming every other Friday for the past year for a shave and a trim. He’s the most gorgeous man Rhett has ever met, with dark hair in a long boyish style, an easy smile, and mischievous eyes behind the black glasses he always slips off at the beginning of his appointment. Sometimes he’s very talkative and Rhett enjoys their conversations, but he has a high stress job, so sometimes he just closes his eyes and stays silent. Rhett is always a little disappointed when those shockingly blue eyes fall closed because it means no conversation and it means Rhett can’t steal glances into that mesmerizing color. 

This particular Friday, Mr. Neal comes in with a smile on his face and Rhett anticipates animated conversation. They greet each other the same as they do every time. “Good afternoon, Mr. Neal. How are you?” Rhett secures the cape around his neck and lets his fingers drift to the man’s glossy black hair. It’s some of the healthiest hair he takes care of.

“Fine, and you Mr. McLaughlin?” He replies, voice giddy.

“Very well.” Rhett is surprised when the man simply closes his eyes, a crooked smile still on his perfect lips. He’d expected an explanation of his mood, but instead he trims his hair in silence. 

Rhett is preparing to put shaving cream on his face when he finally speaks, “I proposed to my boyfriend.” His face breaks into the grin it was clearly itching to show this whole time.

“Congratulations! Am I going to need to learn a new name to call you by?” Rhett continues with the shaving cream, ignoring the twinge in his chest at his customer’s words. He already knew he had a serious boyfriend anyway.

“I’m not sure yet. Wedding’s gonna be in the spring of next year, so we have plenty of time to decide.” Rhett simply nods as he focuses on taking the blade across the man’s skin. He eventually finds himself more focused on the curve of Mr. Neal’s jaw and the slope of his neck than his task. At least he’s been doing this a while so it doesn’t cause him error. He takes his time with the shave, feeling as if this new announcement draws the line at where he should stop fantasizing about Mr. Neal’s skin under his fingertips in other circumstances. He wishes just once he could feel that jaw under his mouth or his pulse with his lips. The rest of the appointment goes by in silence, Mr. Neal thinking of his fiance and Rhett wallowing in a mental war of trying not to look too long at his customer’s lips.

He whips the cape off of him with a practiced snap and begins tidying his station. “I’ll see you again in two weeks, Mr. Neal. Congratulations again.”

He rubs a few fingers over his cheek, “Perfect as always, Mr. McLaughlin. Thank you, see you then.”

-

Rhett mostly manages to put it out of his mind in the next fourteen days, but the moment his favorite customer steps into the shop, everything comes rushing back. Said customer seems to be in such a foul mood, Rhett is surprised there isn’t a storm cloud above his head.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Neal. How are you?” He glances at the man in the mirror and meets blue eyes sharper than ice. 

“Fine.” It’s the most forced syllable he’s ever uttered. “And you?”

“Better than most.” It’s left at that and Rhett goes about his job with diligence. As he finishes the shave, he notices the tension in Mr. Neal’s jaw has released considerably since they began and he takes pride in it. “Have a good weekend, Mr. Neal.” Rhett moves through the practiced clean up routine and Mr. Neal lingers in the chair longer than usual. 

“Thank you for helping me relax. See you in two weeks.”

Mr. Neal doesn’t come in that angry again, but over the next few appointments, his mood is sour and cold. Rhett can tell he’s keeping himself from directing it at the barber, but restraint is all he can manage because there is no small talk for a few months. Rhett misses it. He wants to ask about the wedding plans. He wants to know Mr. Neal is happy with the man he’s chosen. He simply wants to know about his life, to ask about a work project he mentioned the month before. Rhett settles for his hour every two weeks of having the privilege of touching and caring for this gorgeous man because that’s all he’ll ever have. 

Their greeting is less strained this week and Rhett lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “You know, we’ve known each other long enough. Why do we still use last names?” Mr. Neal asks as he leans back in the chair.

“I guess I usually leave it up to the customer. You’re welcome to call me Rhett.” He digs around in his brain, trying to remember Mr. Neal’s first name. He knows he reads it every two weeks on the schedule.

“Then you can call me Link.”

This causes Rhett to pause in his work, brow furrowing. “I thought your name was Charles?” Link laughs and Rhett smiles because it’s the first time he’s heard it in a while. “Yeah, my name is Charles Lincoln Neal III. I go by Link when I’m not at work.” 

“I like it, suits you.” Link smiles, but it soon melts away and Rhett notices him gazing intently into the mirror. He looks exhausted, honestly, but Rhett would never tell him that. His eyes are bright as ever and Rhett can almost hear him thinking, but he has no guess as to what he’s thinking about. 

When Rhett leans him back further for his shave, he comes out of his daze and says, “Have you ever been engaged, Rhett?”

The question and the desperate tone behind it take Rhett by surprise. He carefully spreads shaving cream on his face. “Can’t say I have. Came pretty close once.” Link sighs through his nose and hums in acknowledgement. Rhett picks up his blade and uses it with care. “Not all it’s cut out to be?”

Link waits a while before answering, eyes closed and thinking hard again. “I think I’ve made a mistake.” The sentence hangs heavy in the air and Rhett says nothing. He’s used to being a makeshift therapist for his clients sometimes, but this is the first time Link has opened up like this. As much as he’s talked in the past about his life and hobbies, it’s never been this genuine. “I’m starting to think I proposed just to keep our relationship together. I’m not a fan of change, so keeping things the same is a big motivator for me. I’ve been with Matt for two years. We already live together, it’s just the logical next step.”

Rhett is paying special attention to the soft skin under his jaw when he says, “You know, life isn’t just a singular staircase.”

Link grins at his metaphor. “I think I’m gonna step off of this one, then.”

Rhett swallows and meets his eyes, “I hope you don’t fall too far.”

“Well,” Link says as Rhett starts to clean up, “If I’m changing up the rest of my life, then this won’t change.” He gestures around at the barber shop. “I’m a man of routine, gotta have something.”

“I’m glad I can be a constant,” Rhett admits sincerely. He personally hopes this change brings with it the chance that Link would consider dating his barber.

It’s because of this conversation that Rhett becomes very worried when he finds that Link cancelled his next appointment the day before it was scheduled. He interrogates Alex, who had taken the phone call, and all he gets out of him is that Link sounded kind of rough, but was just as professional as usual. Over the next two weeks Rhett internally becomes a complete mess. He convinces himself something terrible has happened to Link after he indirectly told him to break off an engagement he knew nothing about. Part of him fears his advice was selfish. He came to terms with his attraction to his customer a long time ago. At the same time, he’s always known he was in a serious relationship, so he knew his pining would come to nothing. Until that one afternoon when Rhett heard three sentences about Link’s uncertainty and unhappiness, saw his chance, and told the man to jump ship. The rational part of Rhett’s brain tries to remind him that Link’s decision was already made before he talked to Rhett that day. He’d been unhappy for weeks and that short conversation was not a deciding moment, it was just a vocal confirmation. These thoughts don’t stop Rhett from breathing a sigh of relief when Link arrives for his next appointment all in one piece, albeit looking nervous and tired. Despite that, he looks better than he had four weeks ago.

“Good afternoon, Link. How are you?”

The man nearly collapses into the chair, an uncertain smile on his face. “Better than ever, Rhett. I want a new look.”

Rhett can’t help but grin at that. He likes Link’s hair okay as it is. With a face as nice as his and his hair as gorgeous as it is, he could pull off pretty much any look. But Rhett had always wanted to give him a more flattering hairstyle and he’s practically giddy that today is that day. “What are you thinking?”

“I want it off my ears and forehead. Maybe so I can style it up a bit? Maybe a close shave on the sides.”

Rhett runs his fingers through the strands thoughtfully. “I think I know what you’re saying.”

Almost imperceptibly, Link leans back into his touch. “I trust you. You’ll know what looks good.”

Rhett restrains himself from grinning like a lovesick idiot at the fact that Link said he trusts him. A voice in the back of his mind reminds him that Link might still be with Matt or with someone else. Goodness knows, he could get any other man he wants. Rhett wants to tell him that he always looks good no matter what. Instead, he takes out his tools, licks his lips, and gets to work. Link closes his eyes, out of fear, Rhett would guess. He’s cut enough hair to know it can be nerve wracking to change up a style you’ve had for a long time. He still has his eyes closed as Rhett brushes the hair off of his neck and shoulders. He makes sure the chair is centered with the mirror and says, “Take a look.” He does and Rhett thinks for some reason, this haircut makes his eyes even bluer. Link runs a hand through his hair and a small smile dances over his face. Rhett hands him his glasses from the counter. He watches him slide them on and is instantly intoxicated by the way Link takes himself in. It’s like he’s discovering his own attractiveness for the first time and Rhett thinks it’s long overdue. Blue eyes flit up to meet green in the mirror. “Like it?” Rhett asks.

“Love it.” Blue eyes return to their own reflection. “Broke it off with Matt,” Link announces. Rhett only nods. You probably aren’t supposed to say congratulations to that. “I was moving out Friday before last, that’s why I couldn’t make my appointment. I missed it.” Their eyes meet again and hold longer this time. “I got a big promotion, too.” Before Rhett can give his praise for that, Link has twisted around in his chair to meet his eyes without the mirror. “Go out with me tonight.”

“Okay,” Rhett answers in a heartbeat. Link’s grin lights up the air around him and Rhett smiles too. It’s like something releases in his chest and tightens at the same time with the realization that Link is actually interested in him. After a moment of just smiling at each other, Rhett says, “Oh crap I hope I’m not the reason you’re no longer engaged?” The end comes out as a worried question. 

Link laughs and stands, taking the cape off of himself. “No, no. Matt and I just really didn’t work. When I came to the realization that it was easier to tell my barber things than it was to tell my fiance, I decided maybe I should rethink what the relationship meant to me. Breaking off my engagement had nothing to do with the fact that my barber is one of the most attractive people I’ve ever seen.” He runs a hand through his hair again and winks.

Caught off guard by the sudden flirting, all Rhett can think to ask is, “No shave today?”

“No, not today. But I do hope those hands will be on me later.” He starts walking away. “You have my number, call me when you get off.”

Rhett nods and blushes hard, aware of what every person in the shop just heard. His eyes roam the man’s backside as he leaves, months of fantasies realized in a matter of minutes. He stares after Link for a full thirty seconds before Alex elbows him with a smirk.

He really can’t deny that he has a favorite customer now.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't figured out what I'm gonna do with myself over on tumblr, but it's harper44.


End file.
